Adjustable height bed



May 30, 1961 c. B. HUTT ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT BED 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Marsh 10, 1959 INVENTOR. CLYDE B. HUTT BY BUCKHORN, CHEATHAM 8. BLORE ATTORNEYS United States Patent ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT BED Clyde B. Hutt, 601 E. 22nd St., Vancouver, Wash.

Filed Mar. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 798,426

Claims. (Cl. 5-11) The present invention relates to'a bed and more particularly to a bed which may be quickly and easily raised or lowered in height.

The conventional hospital bed is designed so that the upper surface of the mattress will have a height of between about 33 to 36 inches above the floor. This height is desired for the convenience of the hospital staff in examining or working with a patient.

It is difiicult, however, for manyambulatory patients to get into or out of a bed of such height. Moreover, patients occasionally fall out of bed for one reason or another and if they fall from such a height, they may suffer serious injury.

These problems have been recognized heretofore and beds have been designed which can be elevated to the normal hospital bed height or lowered to about conventional bed or chair height as desired. However, prior beds with which I am acquainted incorporate certain undesirable features. Some of the beds have extremely elaborate mechanism which is expensive to manufacture andliable to malfunction and other beds are not conveniently raised or lowered by the mechanism provided.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved construction by which the bed height may be easily raised and lowered.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable height bed which may be manufactured at a low cost.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable height bed that may be positioned at any desired level within prescribed limits.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable height bed having means for counterbalancing the weight of the bed to assist in the raising and lowering thereof.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent hereinafter.

In accordance with the illustrated embodiment, the present invention comprises a bed including a frame having four corner posts attached thereto and which are provided with hinged lower sections which may be moved between a vertical position to support the bed in elevated position or swung beneath the bed to lower the same. Suitable driving means are provided for effecting movement of the lower leg sections between the possible positions thereof so as toefliect raising or lowering of the bed. Each of the corner posts is alsoprovided with a supplementary, spring biased leg member which engage the floor and support the bed when the bed is lowered-to a predetermined position, the springs therein acting to counterbalance the weight of the bed so as to minimize the'force required to raise or lower the same.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and following specification.

'In' the drawings: 7 Fig. 1 is a side elevation ofa bed showing it in normal elevated position;

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Fig. 2 is a further side elevation of the bed showing in dotted lines the position of the legs when the bed is' in a partially lowered position and showing in solid lines the position of the legs in the fully lowered position thereof;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the bed with the legs in elevated position;

Fig. 4 is a view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing a portion of the mechanism for effecting raising or lowering of the legs;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 of Fig. 1 showing further details of the gearing arrangement of the drive mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5 showing still further details of the drive mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 1 showing details of the construction of the bed posts;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of Fig. 2 showing the post in the lowered position of the bed;

Fig. 9 is a view taken along line 99 of Fig. 1 showing details of the hinge construction for a leg;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11--11 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view taken along-line 12-12 of Fig. 4 showing a detail of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the bed of the present invention may comprise a rectangular frame 10 including the usual side rails 12 and end rails 14. The frame 10 may :support the conventional adjustable spring arrangement of hospital beds which is indicated in the drawings only generally at 16. The mechanism for obtaining adjustment ofsuch springs has not been shown in the drawings'since it may be conventional and forms no part of the present invention. The frame 10 is connected to a foot board structure 18 which includes opposite corner posts 22 and a head board structure 20 which includes opposite corner posts 24. The corner posts 22, 24 each comprise a vertically extending, tubular upper section 30 which is secured as by weldingor any other suitable conventional means to the frame 10 to support the latter and a lower section 32 which is hingedly connected to the upper section bya hinge 33 for pivotal movement of the lower section between an upright position in vertical alignment with the upper section as shown in Fig. 1 and a retracted position extending generally horizontally beneath theframe of the bed as shown in Fig. 2. The lower sections 32 are each U-shaped in cross section as shown in Figs. 3, 10 and 11 for reasons to become apparent and are provided with the usual caster 31.

Means are provided for moving the lower leg sections 32 between the upright and retracted positions thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, such means include a pairof racks 34, 3-5 mounted in opposed relation upon a horizontally disposed guide plate 36 for movement longitudinally of the bed. Secured to and extending between the side rails 12 are a pair of rods 39 which support the upper plate 38 of a gear box 37. Fixed to and depending from the plate 38 are hangers 27 which support the bottom plate '65 of the gear box 37 as shown in Fig. 1. The guide plate '36 is suspended fro-m the plate 38 by .means of rack guides 29 which exten'dbetween and are fastened to such plates. The rack 34 is connected to the lower sections 32 of the legs at the foot of"the bed by an arm means 46 while the rack 35 is connected to the lower sections 32 of the legs at thehead20' of the bed by similar arm means 48. With moreparticular reference to "Figs. 3 and 4, the arms 46, 48 each includes a clevis portion 50 pivotally connected at its 'ends, asindic'ated at 54 in'Fig. 3, to a crossmember52 extending between each pair of lower leg sections 32. As most clearly shown in Fig. 4, the arm 46 is connected to a pivot 58 on the rack 34 and the arm 48 is connected to a pivot 60 on the rack 35. Mounted between and in operative engagement with the racks 34, 35 is a pinion 62 secured to a vertical shaft 64 extending through the bottom wall 65 of the gear box and journaled at its lower end in the guide plate 36 and at its upper end in the plate 38. Referring now to Fig. and 6, fixed to the shaft 64 at a position above the pinion 62 is a gear 68 which is in driving engagement with a Worm 70 mounted on a horizontally extending shaft 72 suitably journaled in the end plates 74, 76 of the gear box 37. Suitable means are provided for driving the worm 70, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the shaft 72 being connected through a universal joint indicated generally at 78 to the shaft 79 of a hand crank 80 which is preferably positioned at the foot of the bed so as to provide ready access thereto. Obviously, other gearing arrangements could be utilized and an electric motor could also be utilized to furnish power to raise and lower the leg sections 32.

As will be apparent, rotation of the hand crank 80 in a selected direction will in turn cause rotation of the worm 70 to drive the pinion 62 and effect movement of the racks 34, 35. Movement of the tracks inwardly from their position shown in Fig. 4, for example, will cause the lower leg sections 32 to be swung inwardly and beneath the bed as indicated in Fig. 2. Opposite movement of the hand crank 80 will cause the leg sections 32 to be swung from their retracted position to their upright position.

As will be apparent, in elevating the bed from its lowered position, resistance will be encountered in the initial portions of the movement of the leg sections. Preferably, means are provided to supply a booster force to assist in overcoming this resistance. In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of booster coil springs 81, 82 are provided for this purpose. Referring more particularly to Figs. 4 and 12, the spring 82 is arranged to slide over a U-shaped shackle 83 fixed to an extension 84 of the guide plate 36. One end 85 of the spring 82 is bent to extend and slide between the arms of the shackle 83 as the spring is moved longitudinally thereof and to engage the bight 86 of the shackle when the spring is moved substantially off of the shackle. The other end of the spring 82 is connected to the pivot 60. The shackle 83 and spring 82 are so arranged that when the bed is in its elevated position, the spring substantially encompasses the shackle as best shown in Fig. 12. As the bed is lowered the spring 82 will be drawn off the shackle 83 until the spring end 85 engages the shackle bight 86 whereafter the spring will extend as the bed is lowered further as may be seen in Fig. 2. Obviously, the tension in the spring 82 will tend to urge the arm 48 in the direction to cause the leg sections 32 to which it is connected to be moved toward their vertical position and will thus assist in overcoming the initial resistance encountered in elevating the bed. The spring 81 is similarly connected between a shackle 87 and the pivot 58 so as to provide a booster force for the arm 46 and leg sections connected thereto.

Suitable stop means are preferably provided to prevent the arms 46, 48 from moving to an over center position when the leg sections 32 are moved to their retracted position. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the arms 46, 48 are each provided with an upwardly projecting portion 90 which is adapted to engage the upper plate 38 of the gear box assembly prior to movement of the arms to an over center position so as to stop the arms in such position.

Slidably mounted in the upper sections of each of the corner posts is an auxiliary leg member 94. Re ferring now more particularly to Figs. 7 and 8, suitably secured within each of the upper leg sections 30 is a sleeve which carries a concentric guide tube 102 by means of an end wall 101. The leg members 94 are just slightly smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the sleeve 100 so that the leg members may freely slide axially within the sleeves. Disposed about the guide tubes 102 of each leg and extending within the leg members 94 thereof is a compression spring 104 which serves as a spring means to bias the leg member downwardly relative to the upper section 30 of the corresponding post. A predetermined limit position of each leg member 94 relative to the corresponding upper section 30 is determined by means of a bolt 106 secured at its lower end to the bottom end of the leg member 94. The upper end of the bolt 106 extends through an opening in the bottom of the guide tube 102, a nut 108 or other means being provided to engage the bottom end of the guide tube in the limit position of the leg member. Mounted on each leg member 94 is a caster 110 and preferably the lower limit position of a leg member 94 is such that the caster 110 will be positioned slightly above the bottom end of the lower leg section 32 in the upright position of the latter as most clearly shown in Fig. 7. Cooperative means are provided on each leg member 94 and corner post to limit the retraction of the leg member into the upper section 30 of the post. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, in its retracted position, the upper end of the leg member 94 engages the top wall 101 of the sleeve 100 in the retracted position. Preferably, the springs 104 have in the upper limit position of the corresponding leg member a spring force just slightly less than the weight imposed upon such leg member. Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be apparent that as the lower leg sections 32 are retracted beneath the bed and the bed hegins to lower, the leg members 94 will engage the floor upon which the bed is supported. As the leg sections 32 are further retracted, the weight of the bed will force the leg members 94 upwardly against the compression of the springs 104 placing increasing amounts of the weight of the bed upon the leg members 94. Finally, as the leg members 94 reach their upper limit position and the leg sections 32 are further retracted and the full weight of the bed will be positioned on the leg members 32. As will be apparent, the springs will thus counterbalance the weight of the bed during the elevation and lowering thereof to facilitate such operations. The U-shaped configuration of the lower leg sections 32 is, obviously, to permit the lower leg sections to straddle the leg members 94.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. I claim as my invention all such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bed comprising a rectangular frame and corner posts for supporting the same, said corner posts each comprising a vertically extending tubular upper section, means securing said upper sections to said frame, said corner posts each comprising a lower section, means hingedly connecting said lower sections to said upper sections for pivotal movement of said lower sections between an upright position in alignment with the corresponding upper section and a retracted position extending beneath said frame, a caster mounted on the lower end of each lower section, means for moving said lower sections between said positions, an extensible leg member slidably mounted in each of said corner post upper sections, spring means operatively arranged between each of said leg members and the associated post to bias said leg member downwardly to a predetermined limit position, said lower sections being U-shaped in horizontal cross section and straddling said leg members in said upright position, and cooperative means on said leg members and said corner posts to limit the retraction of said leg members into said upper sections.

2. A bed comprising a rectangular frame and corner posts for supporting the same, said corner posts each comprising a vertically extending tubular upper section, means securing said upper sections to said frame, said corner posts each comprising a lower section, means hingedly connecting said lower sections to said upper sections for pivotal movement of said lower sections between an upright position in alignment with the corresponding upper section and a retracted position extending beneath said frame, a caster mounted on the lower end of each lower section, means for moving said lower sections between said positions comprising a pair of racks supported beneath said frame for horizontal movement, a pinion mounted between said racks in operative engagement with each, a pair of arm means extending one between one of said racks and said lower sections at one end of said bed and the other arm means between the other rack and the said lower sections at the other end of said bed, and drive means operatively connected to said pinion and operable to rotate the same for driving said racks, an extensible leg member slidably mounted in each of said corner post upper sections, spring means operatively arranged between each of said leg members and the associated post to bias said leg member downwardly to a predetermined limit position, said lower sections being U-shaped in horizontal cross section and straddling said leg members in said upright position, and cooperative means on said leg members and said corner posts to limit the retraction of said leg members into said upper sections.

3. A bed comprising a rectangular frame and corner posts for supporting the same, said corner posts each comprising a vertically extending tubular upper section, means securing said upper portions to said frame, said corner posts each comprising a lower section, means hingedly connecting said lower sections to said upper sections for pivotal movement of said lower sections between an upright position in alignment with the corresponding upper section and a retracted position extending beneath said frame, a caster mounted on the lower end of each lower section, means for moving said lower sections between said positions comprising a pair of racks supported beneath said frame for horizontal movement, a pinion mounted between said racks in operative engagement with each, a pair of arm means extending one between one of said racks and said lower sections at one end of said bed and the other arm means between the other rack and the said lower sections at the other end of said bed, crank means operatively connected to said pinion to rotate the same for driving said racks, stop means on said frame for engaging said arms as said legs are moved to said retracted position and prohibiting said arms from moving to an over center position, an extensible leg member slidably mounted in each of said corner post upper sections, spring means operatively arranged between each of said leg members and the associated post to bias said leg member downwardly to a predetermined limit position, said lower sections being U-shaped in horizontal cross section and straddling said leg members in said upright position with the open side of said sections facing outwardly of the adjacent end of the bed, and cooperative means on said leg members and said corner posts to limit the retraction of said leg members into said upper sections.

4. A bed comprising a rectangular frame and corner posts for supporting the same, said corner posts each comprising an upper section secured to said frame and a lower section hingedly connected to said upper section for pivotal movement of said lower sections between an upright position in alignment with the corresponding upper section and a retracted position extending beneath said frame, means operable to move said lower sections between said positions, an extensible leg member mounted adjacent each of the corners of said frame for vertical movement between upper and lower limit positions relative to said frame, spring means operatively arranged with each of said leg members to bias said leg membersdownwardly to said lower limit position, said spring means each having a spring force in the upper limit position of the corresponding leg member just slightly less than the weight of the bed imposed upon such leg member whereby said spring means substantially counter-balances the weight of said bed during elevation or lowering thereof. 5. A bed comprising a rectangular frame and corner posts for supporting the same, said corner posts each comprising a vertically extending tubular upper section secured to said frame, said corner posts each comprising a lower section, means hingedly connecting said lower sections to said upper sections for pivotal movement of said lower sections between an upright position in alignment with the corresponding upper section and a retracted position extending beneath said frame, a caster mounted on the lower end of each lower section, means for moving said lower sections between said positions, an extensible leg member slidably mounted in each of said corner post upper sections, spring means operatively arranged between each of said leg members and the associated post to bias said leg member downwardly to a predetermined limit position, and cooperative means on said leg members and said corner posts to limit the retraction of said leg members into said upper sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 521,127 Putt June 5, 1894 1,054,416 Hudry Feb. 25, 1913 1,065,280 Stanger et al. June 17, 1913 1,273,214 Gleason July 23, 1918 1,566,967 Kring Dec. 22, 1925 2,658,207 Robbins Nov. 10, 1953 2,698,442 Travis Jan. 4, 1955 2,873,455 Davis Feb. 17, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 847,958 Germany Aug. 28, 1952 847,958 Germany Aug. 28, 1952 

